A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material that is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
This invention relates generally to the health of pets, and, more specifically to determinations of overweight and under weight conditions of pets.
Many pet owners purchase pet foods at retail locations in consideration of their pets"" life stage, body condition, activity level etc, but without the benefit of examination or advice by a pet expert such as a veterinarian or an animal nutritionist. Many pet owners, while making decisions to purchase appropriate food, incorrectly assess the body condition of their pet, even when shown a visual chart. The problem is more acute for owners of overweight pets, since it has been determined that only 1 out of 7 owners of overweight pets correctly recognize their pet as overweight. Since these pet owners do not recognize overweight conditions of their pets, they are therefore unable to choose an appropriate calorie pet food for their pet, and the health of the pet may be jeopardized as a result. Further, the pet may not be correctly diagnosed as over-weight or under-weight until the assistance of an animal expert is requested.
The animal expert, for example, a veterinarian or animal nutritionist, is more likely to determine with a higher degree of objectivity and probability the body condition score (BCS) of pets. Such a determination is useful to non-expert pet owners and to pet food manufacturers to provide accurate food and care information to individual pets. Unfortunately, many pet owners do not have their pets examined by an animal expert, or consider themselves likely to make correct assessments when it comes to determining a body condition score for their pets.
In one aspect, a method is provided for predicting a body condition score (BCS) for pets. The method comprises selecting a BCS based upon a BCS chart, answering a questionnaire regarding the pet, and applying the selected BCS and at least one answer from the questionnaire to a model to determine a predicted body condition score.
In another aspect, a method is provided for determining custom feeding and care instructions for a pet. The method comprises having an owner of the pet assign a body condition score (BCS), determining a predicted BCS using a model if the assigned BCS is within a specific range, determining an activity level for the pet, and making a recommendation regarding the pet according to at least one of the owner assigned BCS, the predicted BCS, and the determined activity level.
In still another aspect, a computer is provided which is programmed to predict an accurate body condition score (BCS) for pets. The computer is configured to apply a BCS and answers from a questionnaire, both input by a user, to a model to determine a predicted body condition score.
In yet another aspect, a computer is provided which determines custom feeding and care instructions for a pet. The computer is configured to accept input relating to an assigned body condition score (BCS), determine a predicted BCS using a model if the assigned BCS is within a specific range, accept input relating to an activity level for the pet, the activity level inputs being classified as one of low activity, high activity, and performance pet. The computer also is configured to make recommendations regarding the pet according to at least one of the BCS accepted as input, the predicted BCS, and the activity level accepted as input.